AN:Welcome to the next ride.I thought I'd try a little experiment this time. Instead of several teams of Cannonballers battling each other for the prize, I thought I'd pit two groups of teams against each other. Each has their own goals and of course, cars.The subtitle should be a clear indicator as to where this is set. Just to clarify, I will be referring to the largest island, the state's namesake, as the big island. I'm aware that most travel between the individual Hawaiian islands is through air travel and in some cases, ferries. So, I've decided to arrange the race in stages.Please read and review. And to any Canadian readers, Happy Canada Day.

Chapter One: Wedding Of The Century

The 2008 Cannonball Run was almost finished. Jill Boyd drove her boyfriend's Toyota MR2 Spyder out of the Lincoln Tunnel. The pearlescent blue sports car was modified with a Kaminari body kit and Konig Helium Silver rims. Jill sat back in the Racetech RT 4000 seat and gripped the Ichibahn IN-D steering wheel as she maneuvered through Manhattan.

"I'm starting to wish we'd brought a bigger car." said her teammate Marcie Thatcher as she changed her outfit in the passenger seat.

"I can put the top down if that helps." said Jill.

"No!" said Marcie. "What if one of our opponents sees us? You'll ruin the surprise."

"Maybe next year, we'll take the Civic." said Jill.

"Hey, do you still have your outfit?" asked Marcie.

"It's in the trunk." said Jill as she pointed to the front of the car.

"Honestly," said the Mercedes' driver, New Zealand-born nightclub owner Danny Mitchell "you have got to be the most immature rich guys in the country."

"This is true." said Brad.

The Drake pressed the BMW's accelerator to the floor and tried to make it around the Mercedes. However, Danny managed to cut him off each time. They made it to another bend in the road and the Drake managed to slip past him.

"Oh!" said Danny. "Now, you're gonna get it."

Danny floored his accelerator and tried to pass the Drake. The Drake was keeping his BMW in the middle of the driveway. He then swerved to the side to avoid hitting a Lexus coming towards him.

"Now's your chance! Go!" yelled Brad.

As Danny was making his move, he was cut off by a black Dodge Stealth which then passed the Drake as well. Behind the wheel was lottery winner Chuck Prescott.

"Ha!" said Chuck's passenger, his wife Betty. "You snooze, you lose!"

The three cars made it to the country club's parking lot and pulled up to a booth where a time clock was set up. Betty was out of the Stealth before it stopped. Race organizer Dennis "Mad Dog" Menesini watched her run for the clock.

The Drake and Danny stopped their cars, but decided not to make an effort to go for the clock since Betty had already ensured victory.

"Truce?" asked Danny.

"Truce." said the Drake. They then shook hands on it.

Betty punched the time card in the clock as Chuck parked the car.

"Nice job." said Mad Dog.

Chuck climbed out of the Stealth and walked over to his wife. "How does it feel to be a winner?" he asked.

"Pretty damn good." said Betty.

"Cool." said Chuck as a yellow '69 Plymouth Road Runner and a red Jaguar XK8 raced into the parking lot.

Former NASCAR mechanic Terry Fletcher and his wife Sarah got out of the Road Runner while perennial least favorites Jamie Blake and Morris Fenderbaum got out of the Jaguar.

A friend of Terry's, former NASCAR driver Mel Sharp, ran over to him.

"Looks like Chuck gets this one." said Terry.

"Yeah, that's not even the big event." said Mel. "You didn't happen to see Jill and Marcie on your way here, did you?"

"No, why do you ask?" asked Terry.

The MR2 pulled into the parking lot along with a black Mitsubishi Galant. Out of the Galant came MIT graduates Jackie Lewis and Michael North.

Jill climbed out of the MR2 and looked at the others mischievously. Then, Marcie climbed out and shocked everyone.

She was wearing a wedding dress.

"Is Monkey here?" she asked.

"He's waiting for you." said Mad Dog.

"Well, that was a shock." said Danny.

"We'll start as soon as everyone's here." said Mad Dog.

A red Mazda MX6 pulled into the lot and stopped. Professional skateboarder Rob Falcon and his bodyguard Big Bison climbed out.

"Whoa." said Rob. "Is this what it looks like?"

"Sure is." said Jill as she took another dress out of the front luggage compartment.

Bison looked around. "Where's J.J?" he asked.

Jill looked around confused.

Later, the ceremony was getting underway. Mad Dog's friend Wayne "Batman" Bruce was playing a wedding march on his synthesizer. Marcie walked down the aisle while her husband-to-be, auto customizer Monkey Matthews, waited at the altar.

Pamela McClure looked at the two empty spaces next to her where her husband J.J. McClure and his friend Victor Prinsi would be sitting. On the other side of the spaces, Victor's girlfriend Lisa Noble just shrugged.

When Marcie got halfway up the aisle, J.J, Victor, and Rob ran into the church. J.J. and Victor took their seats next to Pamela and Lisa.

"Where were you guys?" asked Pamela.

"Blew the engine outside of Cleveland." said J.J. "We caught a flight here and Rob filled us in on the way from La Guardia."

"Are you alright?" asked Lisa as the justice of the peace started to read off the vows.

"Yeah, but the Camaro's toast." said Victor.

"Do you, Marcie Thatcher, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." said Marcie.

"Do you...Monkey Matthews, take this woman to your lawfully wedded wife, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." said Monkey.

"Then by the powers invested in me by the State of New York, I hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

The two then kissed and brought out a round of applause from the crowd.

At the reception, the new bride and groom received congratulations from the various attendees.

"And then all of a sudden, all this white smoke starts to come out of the engine bay." said J.J. "All I could do was pull the car over and pop the hood."

"Wait, you were driving?" asked Lisa. "Didn't you have your license revoked last year?"

"Yeah, we just pretended Victor was driving." said J.J.

"When the cop asked us about the circumstances," said Victor "I just took the blame for it all. It was really the only way."

"Oh, that is so noble of you." said Pamela.

"So, what are you going to do for transportation now?" asked Lisa.

"I guess we're going to have to get a new car." said J.J. "The Camaro's engine is completely shredded. I don't think I can fix it."

Terry was at the buffet table when Monkey's father, used car salesman Claude Matthews, came over to him.

"Fletcher." he said.

"How's your son's wedding?" asked Terry.

"There was a time I never thought I'd see this day." said Claude.

"Yeah, me too." said Terry. "So, what's up?"

"I've got a car you might want to take a look at." said Claude. "It's a classic muscle car. A '69 like the ones you prefer."

"What condition is it in?" asked Terry.

"It's relatively okay." said Claude. "So, what do you say? You want a look?"

"I'll give it a go over." said Terry.

Danny found Mad Dog. "Hey, Mad Dog!" he said.

"Hey, Danny boy." said Mad Dog. "What's the haps?"

"I want to talk business." said Danny.

"How's that?" asked Mad Dog.

"Okay, Jackie told me about the kidnapping attempt." said Danny. "Then, he told me about how Terry was almost kidnapped last year and how Chuck was kidnapped the year before that and how J.J. and Pamela were kidnapped the year before that and the Drake. Needless to say, I'm getting a little nervous."

"What?" asked Mad Dog. "You're afraid you're going to get kidnapped."

"You bet I am." said Danny. "I'm asking you right now. Is there anything in your garage I can use to keep myself safe?"

"I'm just about finishing something up." said Mad Dog. "I'll let you have a look at it when we get the chance."

"Alright." said Danny.

Out on the balcony, Jill's boyfriend Pete Rivers leaned on the railing and looked out at the scenery. His friend Steve Carter walked over.

"Hey, you're not celebrating?" asked Steve.

"I'm still trying to get over the shock." said Pete.

"Yeah, that was kind of alarming." said Steve.

"It's not that." said Pete. "I mean here we are with Marcie and Monkey just going up and getting married like that. It's got me thinking about where I stand with Jill."

"I thought you two were going great." said Steve.

"Yeah, but now she's going to want to step it up a notch." said Pete. "We've been on numerous dates in the past two years. We've seen a couple of movies. Speaking of which, remind me to never again watch something remotely resembling 'Epic Movie'."

"I thought that was a given." said Steve.

"We've supported each other when we race." said Pete. "But we've never really done anything that could be called 'romantic'."

"I think the real problem is that you're doing a lot of things that emphasize the friend in girlfriend." said Steve. "You're doing a lot of things with her you could just as easily do with me."

Pete shot him a strange look.

"You heard me right." said Steve. "What you have is a buddy, not a soulmate. You have to do something to tell Jill 'I'm your man and you're my girl.' 'Cause right now, it's 'We're the dudes.' Go on and tell her you want to do something romantic with her."

"Like what?" asked Pete. "Gimme some ideas. I'm a novice at this."

"Do something spontaneous." said Steve.

"Like combust?" asked Pete.

"No, no." said Steve. "Although that would be cool to watch. No, do something you just thought of. Something unexpected."

"Pete?" asked Jill as she walked out onto the balcony. "You're missing the party."

"Do it." whispered Steve.

"Yeah, I just had to think about a few things." said Pete. "So, uh, what's the situation on the couple?"

"Tomorrow morning, they're getting on a plane and heading to Hawaii." said Jill.

"Hawaii, that's cool." said Pete. "Sounds very romantic and all that."

"I know." said Jill. "I wish I were going with them."

"Then I tell you what." said Pete.

Steve looked at him and smiled.

"Pack your bags and bring your suntan lotion." said Pete. "Tomorrow, we are joining Marcie and Monkey in Hawaii!"

He then ran off.

"What? Pete!" yelled Jill.

"Damn!" said Steve. "First time and he doesn't mess around!"

Jill gave him an annoyed look.

The next morning, Marcie and Monkey were at the airport. So were Jill and Pete.

"I swear." said Jill. "I had no idea he was going to do this."

"Don't worry about it." said Monkey. "If anything, Marcie will be tickled to see her best friend there."

"I hope so." said Jill.

Marcie walked over to them while folding up her cell phone. "Okay, I got in touch with a racer in Waimea. He's got a couple of cars he's willing to let us borrow while we're in the area."

"Cool." said Pete. "Beats the hell out of Hyundais and Kias."

"Is it alright if we stay at the same hotel?" asked Jill.

"Perfectly fine." said Monkey.

"Hey, you want to grab a snack before the fight?" asked Marcie. "We've got an hour or two."

"Why not?" asked Jill. "Let's go."

On their way to the restaurants, they passed a brown-haired man in a gray suit. He looked through the newspapers, then replaced them.

Another man in a green jacket walked up next to him and started looking through the periodicals. The man in the suit looked at him and the jacket man said "What are you looking at, preppie?"

The man in the suit turned to a passing security guard and quietly beckoned him over. The guard walked over and asked "What seems to be the problem?"

The man in the suit grabbed the man's jacket by the collar, then took a badge out of his suit. "P.C. Baker, U.S. Marshals. This man is a wanted fugitive for a murder in Rhode Island. Check with my superiors and they'll confirm it."

The jacket man tried to escape, but the guard subdued him before he could get away from Baker.

"Yeah, I remember this guy from the news." said the guard. "Good eye, Agent Baker."

"No problem." said Baker. "Just place a call and my colleagues will take him in."

"You're not taking him in?" asked the guard.

"No, I'm on special assignment." said Baker. "I'm after someone else in Hawaii. I'll send you a postcard."

"Good luck." said the guard.

Baker walked to the ramp for the plane. He checked his PDA on the way. A dark-haired young man showed up on the screen with the name "Dexter Cole."

"You've been a bad, bad boy, Mr. Cole." said Baker.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.